There's a new Y2K trend on campus. Baggy jeans, low-rise clothing and most noticeably: jorts.
Jorts, otherwise known as "jean shorts," and other baggy clothing are indicative of the alternative trend all across campus. Students don't tend to wear clothes that fit them, but rather clothes that are bigger and bolder.
"There's definitely, in the past year or two, been a big resurgence in jorts," Lillian Flottmann, a sophomore studying fashion design, said. "And not just the denim, sort of smaller shorts that you typically would see, but knee-length, full jorts."
These types of clothing are not often found on the racks of typical department stores, so fashionable students often turn to thrifting and reusing old clothes as a way to get their Y2K on.
"I think a big thing I've seen is a rise of Y2K coming back," Zophia Zamora-Vazquez, a junior studying sociology, said.
Zamora-Vazquez also mentioned how fold-over leggings, a staple from childhood, were also present in today's college campus fashion.
Thrifting clothes is not the only way students are becoming more fashionable, however. Stylizing and embroidering their clothes makes these older clothes become newer to the wearer by making it more personable.
"I've seen a bunch of people thrifting clothes and then embellishing them with buttons, zippers, patches — definitely becoming a thing right now," Giovanna Manzo, a senior studying fashion, said.
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Manzo's closet is full of hand-me-downs but tailored to what suits her best. Zamora-Vazquez uses accessories to personalize outfits.
"People love putting chains and just different stuff on their outfits," Zamora-Vazquez said. "Clipping even stuffed animals are very popular."
This type of older fashion isn't necessarily restricted to just Y2K. It's also a resurgence of alternative clothing that makes students stand out.
"(The alternative style) used to be something that you would typically get bullied for, which hasn't completely changed, but it's becoming more accepted and generalized," Kadrianna Smith, a freshman studying criminology and criminal justice, said.
Smith's closet, organized by color, is heavily black and has darker colors. This type of clothing is traditionally associated with gothic fashion, which tends to diverge from more mainstream fashion.
But in today's college campus, that type of fashion may just be mainstream fashion. Molly Riley, a freshman studying mechanical engineering, prefers more androgynous and alternative clothing.
"I like to dress masculine and feminine and I try to combine that," Riley said. "I like to wear things that other people maybe wouldn't wear (and) challenge the ideas."
READ MORE: Threads of identity: ASU students use style to showcase culture
Fashion isn't just about what you wear, it's about how you style it. Clothes shouldn't be for anyone but you. If you're trying to become more fashionable, remember to get what you like.
"I'll go thrifting with friends and find something that I love, and everybody thinks it's ugly until you put it on and style it with something that makes you really follow your own vision," Flottmann said.
With the rise of Y2K and other alternative styles, students can't help but wonder what's next.
"I think fur is gonna come back in a big way," Riley said. "It's already coming back."
Regardless of what is next, fashion will always continue to follow a pendulum sort of pattern. Trends come and go in extremes, and it's a forever cycle, Flottman said.
"Right now, we've got the super wide-legged, loose low-rise," Flottmann said. "We've noticed shorts and jorts; even just jeans full length. But then, 10, 20 years ago, it was all high-rise skinny jeans."
Fashion is ever-changing. Regardless of what trends come and go, its important to stay true to yourself.
"Dress for yourself and not for other people," Smith said. "Because if you wear what makes you happy, then that's gonna make you happiest, and you don't have to fit into what people expect you to wear."
Edited by Kasturi Tale, Senna James and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at gachatht@asu.edu.
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Gokul Achaththekoot is a junior majoring in actuarial science at ASU. He is involved with on-campus sketch comedy, and enjoys learning more about the community and culture of ASU. This is his 5th semester at The State Press, having served on The Echo as a part-time reporter in all his semesters here.
